This majestic array of wild mushrooms is just one morning's haul from Macreddin Village woods, where Evan Doyle and his kitchen crew from BrookLodge hotel have gathered an incredible 47.5 kilos this week.

Mild weather and lots of rain has resulted in bumper crops in recent days. “Like the wild salmon rain in June, we’ve been waiting for this mushroom rain for weeks now, and it has worked out brilliantly – soft rain, temperatures of between 15 and 18 degrees, and perfect humidity,” Doyle says.

Some of the mushrooms are being used in dishes at the hotel’s Strawberry Tree organic restaurant, but the majority will be dried for future use. “We have two seven-drawer dehydrators working round the clock at the moment and we’re storing the mushrooms in Kilner jars. We’ve always felt that wild mushrooms retain more flavour and work better in recipes when they’re dried. They’ll go into our wild food pantry for the chefs to use.”

This Sunday, October 6th, the annual Italian Macreddin Village Food Market – a collaboration between the hotel and Armento village in Italy, from where it sources organic olive oil, balsamic vinegar and coffee, takes place between noon and 5pm. See brooklodge.com.